Tensions grow between Hochul and police union
By Gwendolyn Craig
Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a pension bill impacting more than 1,200 state employees, including environmental conservation officers and forest rangers, citing “substantial unbudgeted costs.” This is the fourth time she has vetoed the bill and the fifth time it’s been shot down overall.
The state Assembly and Senate budgeted funding this year, but Hochul’s executive spending plan and the final $237 billion budget did not include it.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
Most municipal police officers, state police and county sheriff’s deputies receive 50% of their final average salary after 20 years of service. The pension bill would have created parity for rangers, environmental conservation officers, regional state park police and State University of New York police who currently serve 25 years to get the same benefit.
The bill does not include Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or Office of Mental Health officers who also serve under a 25-year pension plan.
The latest bill called for a one-time contribution of $70.3 million for past service costs if it had been enacted this session. Hochul’s veto cited a past service cost of $66.7 million. It also estimated annual contributions increasing by $6.6 million ending March 31, 2025. The cost was expected to average about 3.9% of salary annually after that.
Vetoes
The Hochul administration directed the Explorer to the governor’s veto in response to its inquiry about the veto. The administration did not answer why Hochul did not include funding for the bill in her executive budget.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
The administration has said it has asked for alternatives from the police union, but so far, none have been offered.
The bill, first introduced in 2017 and vetoed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo once and Hochul now four times, has had bipartisan support from lawmakers. Budget concerns have been reasons for past vetoes, but Hochul has also vetoed it citing such changes should be accomplished during collective bargaining.
Because the benefit change involves amending the state’s Social Security and Retirement Law, the state Legislature must create legislation. That was the reading of Lee Adler, a labor lawyer and teacher at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, in an interview with the Explorer in May.
Sen. Peter Harckham, D-Peekskill, chair of the environmental conservation committee, said that the rangers and conservation officers “deserve the same retirement benefits as other statewide law enforcement professionals.”
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
State Assemblyman Matthew Simpson, R-Lake George, called the veto “a disgrace” and Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, noted his disappointment.
“These hardworking officers are frequently expected to do more with less and deserve better than this treatment from the governor,” Stec said.
Union response
The Police Benevolent Association of New York State characterized the Democratic governor’s veto, issued Oct. 4, as “tyrannical” and a retaliation against its billboard campaign that disparages her.
The billboards, posted at the New York State Fair and on roadways in Albany, Buffalo and Long Island, have a photo of Hochul and read “Help Wanted” and “Our streets are less safe today. New Governor needed.”
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
Matt Krug, an environmental conservation officer in the Adirondacks and a union representative, said the billboards were intended to draw attention to staffing shortages.
The Hochul administration has characterized the union’s campaign as deceitful and disrespectful to current law enforcement.
“We’ve been trying to draw attention to our staffing issues for quite some time,” Krug said. He pointed to his multiple appearances testifying at state budget hearings, and several meetings with the Hochul administration. “We’re basically getting gaslit.”
An expected 25-recruit class of forest rangers has drawn just nine now to the academy. The class for new environmental conservation officers, which was slated for 45, is down to 26, Krug said. The weak enrollments are a result of fewer candidates at large and academy dropouts.
The union has pushed for retirement parity as one way to attract more people. “We’re not competitive enough,” Krug said.
With upcoming retirements, Krug thinks the new class of environmental conservation officers will keep up with attrition. But numbers are already 25% below 1970s staffing levels, Krug said. The department has about 260 environmental conservation officers, 26 of whom patrol Adirondack Park counties.
The Old Forge area, Krug added, is one of the hardest patrol regions to fill positions and has several vacancies. Krug highlighted the mother bear and her two cubs recently euthanized in Old Forge due to conflicts with humans.
“We have one officer covering three counties over that way,” he said. “You cannot address the bear feeding complaints (with one officer), which manifested into those bears being euthanized.”
Top photo: DEC Forest Rangers reaching the bottom of the technical section of an ice climber rescue. Explorer file photo by Eric Teed
Bu t it’s ok to spend $800 million on a football stadium. Oh, I forgot, the gov’s home district is more important to her.
Or to spend 12 Billion dollars to support immigrants.
This is just another sad state of affairs
These men and women work incredibly hard and deserve so much more
Put a few of these Powers To Be on a lovely hike that turns into a nightmare to be rescued by the individuals whom don’t deserve proper retirement
What a joke!
Or spend over half a million dollars on a foreign company to tell the DEC how to manage trails, that produced nothing. But most AE readers will run right out next election for vote ole kathy in.
When and why did N.Y.S.C.O.P.B.A. give back the 20 year retirement for Corrections Officers and S.H.I.T.A.’s ( Dept.of Mental Health)? I know that once N.Y.S.C.O.P.B.A. secured the 20 year retirement not many of us took advantage of it. Most C.O’s came in the department during the big expansion years of 1982-1984 and 1988-1989. I was part of the first group in 1982. I had 23 years in when N.Y.S.C.O.P.B.A. secured 20 year. There was no cost benefit to leaving at 23 years compared to retiring at 25 years. In fact,we would have lost money. So most of us finished our careers then retired.
I was also in on the ground floor when N.Y.S.C.O.P.B.A. was formed. One of the things that was negotiated between the EnCon officers and Corrections was their release from N.Y.S.C.O.P.B.A. 1 year after if, and or when, N.Y.S.C.O.P.B.A. won the decertification vote. They felt that they EnCon would get swallowed up by Corrections ( EnCon at the time had approximately 1500 members compared to 27,000 members for Corrections). One year after N.Y.S.C.O.P.B.A.’s win, we lived up to our promise and released EnCon.
In know that hindsight is 20/20,but if they would have stayed with us,they would have had their 20 year retirement 20 years ago.
Oh, and she’ll probably approve the almost doubling of the pay from 5 years ago for all state assembly representatives. Dont take care of the people, but they’ll take care of themselves. Government at its best.
BOOOOO!
5 Vetoes.? Forest Rangers retirement? What else to expect from Hochul, a political hack initially selected by Cuomo as his Lieutenant because she was just that — not a political threat, just a political hack from what’s left of the Buffalo political machine.
If the Dems put up a decent candidate — who might that be? — she’ll be out. With luck, someone a bit more sympathetic to the North Country than the supremely indifferent current Giv.
With the costs of housing and the lack of long term rentals, due to Airb& Bs the ADKs will continue to lose our communities.
No one can find help. Without the internationals we would be in dire straits now
It is consistent with the times we are living in, the people who deserve it the most, are not appreciated or given similar consideration of others in comparable positions. I appreciate all our law enforcement officers but when you look at the incident reports and conditions of rescue, as well as the patrolling of vast larger areas than the average law enforcement officer, ECO’s and FR’s should have parity. Our Governor should go hiking sometime and need assistance to see how these brave men and women respond and what they do.
Just keep voting DEMOCOMMUNIST people, and this is what you will keep getting.
In the eyes of the N.Y. “political elites”, the cities, (and their “sports”) in keeping the sheep brainwashed and “occupied”, ALWAYS comes first. (THAT, and those INVADING illegal aliens) that are their “new voting block” (SLAVES), or a chuckles schumer calls them, “THEIR MORE CONTROLLABLE BREEDING STOCK, they will USE to repopulate this country”, (as well as replenish their depleted democommunist “PLANTATION”)
Hockul is a disgrace and is even worse than Cuomo. She has her priorities completely backwards! I fully support our forest rangers and conservation officers. Too bad her veto can not be over ridden.
Forest Rangers do important and difficult work. They certainly deserve NYS pension parity.
One would think the Rangers would be covered in the same way that other unionized forces are. The number of Rangers is not sufficient – not for the size of this Park. And it has been insufficient since we first were in the area in 2008. I find it remarkable that both Andrew Cuomo and now Kathy Hochul have vetoed these bills – both Democrats. Not exactly a progressive, for the people, stance. And certainly, not the often quoted reverence for the North Country wilderness by these same politicians.
A governor wears many hats. We need better candidates with different priorities. Obviously collective bargaining isn’t getting it done.
Adirondack Wild’s letters to Gov Hochul:
…”By signing the bill, you will facilitate recruitment and retention of a more diverse pool of Forest Rangers and Environmental Conservation Officers. This legislation would help all of the State agencies in the PBA of NYS.
The status quo, meaning the untimely loss of hardworking Rangers and Officers serving the public, is due in part to the current unequitable retirement plan. Therefore, Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve strongly supports the 20-year retirement bill, and the PBA of NYS commitment to fielding a robust, diverse roster of Rangers and Officers trained, equipped and motivated to protect our precious public lands and the recreating public throughout their careers.”